Scottish myths 3

Robert Burns (1759-1796) the Bard of Ayshire, national poet of Scotland and Internationally celebrated, was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire. He was the eldest of seven children. The cottage where he was born was built by his father, a self educated farmer. The cottage is now the 'Burns Cottage Museum'.
His father, William, sold the cottage and rented a 70 acre farm where 'Rabbie' grew up. The family was poor and the work was hard. The ploughing and manual labour physically effected Robert who stooped at an early age and suffered from a weak constitution.
He was partly educated by his father, partly by a John Murdoch who taught Latin, French and mathematics up until 1768 when Murdoch left Alloway. Burns resumed his education at home before being sent to Dalrymple Parish School for the summer of 1772. Then he had to return for the harvest as a full time farm labourer until 1773, after which he studied with Murdoch for only three weeks of grammar, French and Latin.

In 1774, he was only 15 years old, yet he was still labouring the Mount Oliphant farm. At about this time he started writing his first poetry and songs. In 1775 he completed his education care of a tutor at Kirkoswald.

His life was turbulent and he was not a fortunate farmer, but he had many love affairs, which also caused him many problems.
He accepted a job as a slave trade accountant in Jamaica, which inspired him some years later to write The Slave's Lament. But he never obtained the necessary funds to actually go to Jamaica, which, considering his personal views, was perhaps just as well.

Ironically when his professional situation improved and his writing began to be more widely appreciated, his health started to fail. His views favouring the French revolution, also lost him friends. He was only 37 years old when he finally died in Dumfries.

Robert Burns was an accomplished poet and lyricist in English as well as Scottish. One of his best poems was Tam o'Shanter in which there are some magnificent lines. No doubt the poem was based on a Scottish legend.

As a resumé, one stormy night Tam o' Shanter has the misfortune of interrupting a witches' dancing spree in the Church graveyard of Alloway. They were waking the dead with their dancing to the eerie strains of horn and bagpipes. When Tam, bewitched himself, foolishly bellows out his appraisal, they scream and fly after him. Although terrified, Tam manages to remount his old grey mare Maggie, and ride for his life.
There was one witch he called 'Cutty Sark' (short shirt). She being the most rapid of them all, manages to catch up with Tam just as he is about to reach the river Doon bridge. She catches the mare's tail but the water of the Doon prevents her from continuing, and the old mare Maggie, although then tailless, manages to carry her master across the bridge to safety.

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